O'hara's Irish Stout, Beer of the Week no. 2

Beer of the Week 2

O’Hara’s Irish Stout

The Facts: Brewed since 1998, by the Carlow Brewing Company, O’Hara’s Irish Stout has a relatively short, but award winning history. You can read more about it at the company’s website, www.carlowbrewing.com.

What They Say: Beer Advocate rating: 3.91 out of 5. RateBeer.com rating of 3.32 out of 5.

What I Say: Every time I try a stout beer, especially an Irish stout, I compare it to Guinness. It might not be fair, but Guinness is the best and that’s just how I do things. So how does O’Hara’s compare? It stacks up very well. It doesn’t have the creamy pour or as much head as Guinness. It does have a very similar smell. O’Hara’s has a slightly heavier body. I’ve always found Guinness to be surprisingly light. O’Hara’s has a great full taste with hints of coffee and chocolate (kind of like Guinness.) My only complaint would be the bitter aftertaste. The taste hangs on a little too long. But, that’s not enough to not drink this great beer. I can imagine myself enjoying more than a few of these in an evening.
As far as availability, I found O’Hara’s in a little country store that inexplicably has an extensive craft beer selection. I would imagine it is pretty easy to find elsewhere.

With this review I am including a new rating system. I will now give a rating to each beer between one and six pints. I am reserving six pints for when I try Guinness Draught in Ireland.

Considering everything, the comparison to Guinness, my prejudice toward Irish Stout in general, I give O’Hara’s Irish Stout a solid 4.5 pints.

Beer of the Week 1

Beer of the Week

Week 1

Corsendonk Abbey Pale Ale

The Facts:

Abbey Tripel, 7.5% ABV, widely distributed.

Corsendonk Abbey Pale Ale is brewed by Du Bocq, in Oud-Turnhout, Belgium. The brand name refers to the Priory of Corsendonk, which was founded in 1398 and closed in 1784. The priory was located in Oud-Turnhout and maintained a significant brewery and malt house.

The full history and other facts can be found here at their website.

What Others Say:

This beer ranks in the 92^nd percentile at Rate Beer, with a rating of 3.66 out of 5. The beer has a 3.89 rating out of 5 at the Beer Advocate.

What I Say:

For starters, this beer should be poured gently because it can generate lots of head otherwise. It has a wonderful citrus smell. It has an opaque, wheaty, golden color that belies the full flavor. At first the flavor has a citrus and fruity quality. It is somewhat dry and finishes with an almost floral hopiness.

I wouldn’t drink this beer everyday. It’s more of a treat. It deserves more respect than being consumed while watching football. It does make for the perfect reward after a long day at work though.

I found this beer at Harris Teeter, so you should be able to find it easily.